Fire and Ice
by thissideofparadisebaby
Summary: "Some say the world will end in fire, some say ice. From what I've tasted of desire; I hold with those who favor fire." Mallory x Michael fic. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1- The day the world ended

**This story is completely mine except for the name/place of characters. All rights belong to AHS creators. This is a work of fiction and should not be published or distributed. I do not own the rights to the characters used in this story.**

 _**This story will follow closely with the story line of AHS season 8 but I will add/remove some parts as it goes along. For the most part the_ _beginning_ _chapters share the same dialog as the show but I will_ _embellish_ _more as the story progresses and it starts to deviate from the_ _original_ _show. There will be some mature stuff later on so I will give it an M warning it will just come later in the story. Pretty much this is a Mallory/Michael fluff fic no other OC characters will be added to the main story line. I will only add names if they weren't given any in the show (: This is my first fic so if you like it let me know, otherwise enjoy!_

All she remembers is light at first. The light of the sun as it shone through the billowing trees. The light that she felt when her mother laughed at one of her father's jokes. The light when she looked into deep blue eyes, light she never thought to see again.

Ch. 1: The day the world ended.

My dreams always start the same way. I am reaching for someone, but I can't see who. Then the walls start coming in, blacker and blacker until I feel as though I can't hold one more ounce of air in my lungs until it all I see is blue. Particularly the bluest of blue eyes. I can never tell who's they are though or why they bring me the most comfort. I had never even seen someone with that shade of blue before in real life so why would these set of eyes bring me comfort in my dreams. This usually is the question I have when I wake up, except it was dark when I woke up. At first I didn't know where I was or who I heard breathing next to me. Then it all came back with the sound of that fucking ringtone. I threw the dead arm of the man beside me off and scrambled to the source of what woke me from my slumber. Sifting through the discarded clothes on the floor I found my cell phone and cursed under my breath at the name that was on the screen. Coco. That one name causes my pulse to accelerate and my stomach to twist in on itself. I answered as fast as I could and regretted it immediately.

" _Where the FUCK are you Mallory?_ " Coco screamed into my ear.

I held the phone away from my ear as her tirade of curses and berating continued.

Taking a deep breath I pulled the phone closer to my ear to try and appease the mess Coco was.

" _I am sorry Coco, I didn't hear my alarm this morning._ "

" _Maybe if you weren't fucking the entire west coast you would of woken up and I would not be sitting here waiting for my morning coffee you dumb slut._ "

" _I am so so sorry Coco I will be there in less than 15 mins I swear."_

" _Whatever Bitch just bring me my fucking tea._ "

The line went dead and with it came even more anxiety. I scrambled together my clothes from last night that were strewn around the room. As I was putting on the stubborn fish nets that refused to go on the right way a hand grabbed my ass. I turned around and was shocked to see the guy from last night awake with a lazy grin on his face. Sure he was cute, short brown hair with green eyes and dimples for days, he just wasn't the same when not under the influence of neon lights and alcohol.

" _Hey babe. Why are you in such a hurry come back to bed_ " he mumbled to me throwing in a lazy smile that would make any other girl melt, unfortunately I had the fear of Coco in my heart and no lazy smile would make me stay.

" _I'm sorry,_ " I said as I pulled my dress on, " _My boss called me. I gotta go or else I am going to be dead. Literally._ "

I pushed myself out of his grasp and raced out of his bedroom. In the back of my head I had a thought, ' _What if I did just stay in bed with him all day? What if I said no to Coco for once and enjoyed a lazy day with this cute guy that actually wanted me'_ , but I knew I couldn't of done that. No matter how much I wanted to.

I made it to Coco's house with one minute to spare. Holding her grande green tea with skim milk in my hand and a peace offering of a blueberry scone in the other (she can never resist the blueberry scones). I entered through the side kitchen as that was were most of the workers are supposed to come in from. Coco was yelling at the maid over how horrible her breakfast was when I walked in.

" _How can you be so stupid. Do you not realize that I could buy your whole goddamn country. Who gave you the right to think I would enjoy my eggs over easy you dumb fucking-"_  
" _Here Coco the grande green tea you asked for._ " I placed the tea in her hand and the scone in the other. For a minute she seemed to forget about why she was yelling at the poor woman. I looked to the maid and made a motion with my head for her to leave. Luckily she understood without having to be told directly. Unfortunately it left me open for scrutinization from Ms. Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt. Joy.

" _You know fishnets were popular in the early 2000's which would make sense as to why you are wearing them now considering everything you wear is outdated_." Coco said, while taking a bite of her blueberry scone.

I looked down at myself, at the ripped fishnet tights and sequined mini dress that I wore out to the club last night. In her defense she did have a point. Fish nets were so early 2000's.

" _I think I need to change real quick. All things considered._ " I said while pointing to my off brand outfit.

" _If you aren't back by the time I finish this scone then consider yourself fired._ " Coco said shoveling another bite into her mouth.

I ran as fast as I could up the stairs to the one of the many side rooms in Coco's house that she had graciously given me to stay in while being her assistant.

Hey at least it beat having to pay rent in LA.

I put on a red/black striped shirt. A black moto jacket. Black pants with thick red lines down the side. Some black boots and a nice Versace fanny pack that Coco had given me after wearing it only one time. To finish I wiped the leftover makeup from my face and put a page boy black hat on my head to hide my unwashed hair. I ran downstairs so fast that Coco had just popped the last bite of scone into her mouth as I entered the kitchen.

" _You're late. Let's go I have a hair appointment with Gallant in 20 mins and I can not miss it._ " Coco said while grabbing her phone and turning to walk out the front door. I raced ahead to grab her purse and keys and followed behind my ruthless boss.

In the car Coco was going on about how one of her friends from the club was backstabbing her instagram posts when she knew that Coco wanted to become an influencer. In all honesty I had heard that story a million times, that was the thing with Coco, she was always obsessive. Instead of listening I stared out the window and watched as we past mansion after mansion leaving into the Hills. As the images started to blur I saw a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at me in the same one's I had seen in my dream. I jumped confused by what I just saw. Normally when I see them I am unconscious and know that they aren't real but to see them there felt so different, they felt.. real, almost as if I could reach out and touch the face of who they belonged to.

" _Geeze what is up your butt today Mallory. What, did you see yourself in the reflection. That would make anyone jump._ " Coco chided.

I turned and looked at Coco. She wasn't all evil as she sounded. I knew she was helpless and could barely stand on her own two feet which is why I stuck around in this shit hole of a job. I felt like she needed me more than I needed her.

" _We need to post a story on Insta of your morning for your followers, or else we could be losing them fast._ " I told Coco, distracting her from whatever insult was about to come out of her mouth next.

When we got to the hair salon I said a quick hello to Gallant who had been doing Coco's hair for years after they met at some club function. Coco and Gallant could talk for hours and not wanting to be berated the whole time I decided to explore some of the shops around the salon. We were in the heart of Beverly Hills, so naturally I ended up at Starbucks needing a caffeine fix of my own. After waiting almost 30 mins to get my coffee I walked in and out of shops on the drive. Many were far to expensive for my credit cards and Coco would kill me if she found out I went shopping on her dime, not that she would notice as someone else does her bills for her. I walked into a grocery store and was browsing the juice selections, I had just seen something about it trending on Twitter and I knew that if Coco was taking part in that she could gain even more followers. I had just picked a nice watermelon one I thought she might enjoy when a arm reached past me to the other juices. I looked up and was met with the same blue eyes as before, this time on a mans face. I gasped, dropping the bottle of juice I was going to get Coco, effectively splattering it on the floor and mostly on the man in front of me.

" _What the fuck dude_ " the man yelled.

Shaking my head I saw that his eyes weren't the blue I thought but a soft green instead. In a spur of embarrassment I grabbed a random bottle off the shelf hoping that it would at least be satisfying to Coco and not complete trash. Running to check out and leave that embarrassing episode behind me I paid the cashier for what turned out to be a greener juice that I thought and left. As I walked back to the salon I could not stop thinking about what had happened back in the store. I had thought… surely I hadn't mistaken the eyes. They felt so real again. I knew my dreams were weird but for them to carry over into my day time was rare and frankly upsetting to me. Maybe it was the boy this morning telling me to stay or the stress from Coco but I was officially losing it... and fast.

I made it back to the store just as Coco was done with her new look, which didn't look much different to what she had before in my opinion. I ran in with the juice, hoping it was still trending and hoping she would at least like it.

" _Take a sip so we can post. Cold press juice is trending super hard right now. You're gonna get, like, 10,000 likes in ten minutes._ " I told Coco.

Coco took a sip while I snapped a quick pic of her. The bottle had barely touched her mouth when she spit it back in disgust towards me.

" _Are you trying to fucking poison me? This tastes like turtle shit. You're supposed to be my personal assistant mallory Do you even know me? Could you just go and get me a macchiato so I can rinse this taste out of my mouth?_ "

' _Fuck,'_ I thought, ' _I knew I should of gone with the watermelon on this one.'_

I turned to throw away the juice and run to Starbucks again when a loud honking noise and tires screeching stopped me in my tracks.

" _Are the Kardashians filming out there?_ " I thought out-loud.

Then the sound came, from all of our phones. A warning, one I never thought I would see.

"URGENT ALERT- BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO LOS ANGELES. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

" _No it's bullshit. It's a hoax. It's like that time in Hawaii. They're gonna text in, like, a minute with a retraction._ " Coco said. Then her phone rang, showing a face time from her dad.

" _Oh Hi Daddy. How's Hong Kong?_ " Coco asked.

" _Coco, listen to me._ " Her dad said partially coming in and out.

" _Oh, you know what? We have a terrible connection. I'll call you after I'm done.._ "

" _Just shut up and listen. The missile alert is real. In less than an hour, Los Angeles is going to be a crater._ " Coco's dad said seriously.  
I felt my heart drop through my stomach. This couldn't be real.

" _Wait, Daddy, you're scaring me._ " Coco whined.

" _You can still be safe. There are four spots reserved for our family, but your mother and brother are here with me, and we're not going to make it. A car is coming. It'll take you to Santa Monica Airport A private jet is waiting so go. So go. Now._ " Her father urged.

" _Wha..What are you talking about?_ " Coco said.

" _Your mother and I love you very much. Wish we could be together again, but it's too late. Just try to be happy, baby._ " Her mother and brother joined her dad in the frame. All three looking shaken as if this really was their last goodbye.

" _Oh my god._ " Gallant breathed.

" _That's the only thing that matters._ " Coco's dad said before the connection cut in a cloud of white smoke. Stunned none of us could move.

" _No. No. No. No. Was that real?_ " Coco asked.

Without even thinking I went into autopilot recalling only what her father had just said.

" _We gotta go Coco. Come on. Come on._ " I said while tugging her to her feet. Her expression still in shock and phone in hand. We ran outside past the screaming women on the street. I led us to the black escalade sitting across the way and jumped in. Without even checking to see if Coco was belted in I turned to the driver and told him to go. Coco still in somewhat of a shock started to dial for her boyfriend Brock. When he answered she sounded even more worried.

" _Brock where are you?_ " Coco said. I couldn't hear his response but I assumed he would of been at his office at this time seeing as it wasn't even 3 o'clock yet.

" _Brock, I love you, I don't want to live without you. Get to Santa Monica Airport. There's a plane waiting for us._ " Coco cried. But I knew what she did too, there was no way he was going to make it to the airport on time. But she still had to try.

I kept looking at my phone and tried to call my mother, my father, anybody really but could not get through to anyone.  
" _Look I can't get ahold of anyone. My mom's going straight to voicemail. I gotta go home Coco._ " I said, panic easing its way into my throat. ' _What if they were already dead,_ ' I thought, ' _What if this really is the end._ "

" _No No. No. No. No. You need to stay here with me. Okay? Take my brothers ticket. Mallory you know I am helpless without you. I'm worse than Elton John. I don't even know how to work a dishwasher or open a door. Besides, after the bomb drops, there won't be anything to go home to._ " Coco said a sad, almost pathetic look crossing her face.

I thought about for a minute. On one hand I really wanted to know what happened to my parents but on the other I knew she was right and that survival was the only thing that mattered.

" _Okay._ " I reluctantly said. I started to fiddle with the bracelet on my left hand. It was a small beaded like bracelet with only the letter M on it. I don't remember where I had gotten it from but I knew that it brought me great comfort any time I needed it.

We both turned to the front to find the car at a complete standstill, traffic overflowing the streets. People running everywhere. It. was. Chaos.

" _Why aren't we moving?_ " Coco asked the driver.

Then a loud thump hit the front windshield, cracking the right side and leaving a trail of blood all the way down. A body. A man's body laid right on top of it all. His eyes shut as if he was sleeping.

" _Oh My god_ " Coco cried

" _Jesus Christ_ " I screamed.

" _Oh my god._ " she cried again.

" _People are committing suicide to escape the blast._ " I said, the only thing that would of made sense. Our driver pulled to the left, throwing the man's body to the ground. Speeding away to try and reach Santa Monica airport as fast as he could, leaving the carnage and chaos behind.

As we got to the terminal we saw only one plane in the hanger. As soon as our driver stopped I raced out of the vehicle to try and get all our stuff onto the plane as fast as I could. Not even bothering to think about why there was already suitcases in the back of the car. Then we heard another car pull up and in it Gallant with some ancient women in his passenger seat.

" _Coco. Coco wait._ " Gallant called. Coco stared in disbelief at them, while I continued to run back and forth between the car and plane.

" _What are you doing here?_ " Coco asked. Confusion crossing her face.  
" _I overheard your dad._ " Gallant stated pulling suitcases out of his cars trunk. " _There's four spots. Room for all of us._ " He came around to the front of the car to stand in front of Coco. " _This is my nana Evie._ "

Evie curtsied while saying " _How do you do?_ " as if this was the 1800 fucking hundreds.  
" _No I don't know what are you doing? Brock is gonna be here._ " Coco snidded.

" _He's not gonna make it. It's chaos out there._ " Gallant said dropping a suitcase on the ground. Feigning shock he added " _Jesus what happened to your hair._ "  
" _What are you talking about?_ " Coco asked while reaching for the top of her head, " _Okay fine just get on the plane._ "

I had finished packing all of our suitcases into the cargo holder and was just checking the inside of the plane when I heard commotion from the tarmac. Coming towards the plane was a sea of neon yellow vests, with them the faces of an angry mob. The driver pushed Coco back and started firing off rounds, I turned and could see Coco on the phone, no doubt talking to Brock. I looked back at the crowd and made a decision.

" _Coco._ " I called, " _It's now or never._ " I didn't get to hear her response, I only saw her mumble into her phone with a somewhat pained expression then quickly turned to run up the steps behind me while the driver shut the planes door; locking us in. As the engines started up I looked out the window and saw our driver, the one who had protected us beforehand, being over taken by the angry mob. Along with their cries and angry fists on the planes door. But in no time we took off, leaving behind the chaos once more.

After a few minutes of sitting there quietly, me thinking about how all those people just wanted to go to safety but ended up dead, the others… probably thinking about themselves. I looked out the window and again saw the same pair of blue eyes, this time they seemed to be laughing at me… if that was even possible. I turned my head away from the window to look at Coco. Surely she must know what's going on. But she just looked back at me with the same lost expression a child has when they can't find their parents in a grocery store.

" _Where are we going?_ " Coco asked me, as if I was the one piloting the plane.  
" _Didn't your dad tell you?_ " I asked. Coco just looked at me shaking her head. I sighed and got out of my seat, " _I'll find out._ "

I walked down the small hallway to the cockpit. Normally I would of been met by at least one stewardess but it seemed eerily quiet on this jet.

I knocked once. When no one answered, I turned around and looked at the others. Seeing their also confused faces I turned again and knocked, this time harder than before. After no response I wiggled the door handle and to my surprise it popped open. To everyone else's shock, and my own, there was no one in the cockpit. I turned and looked at the others breathing " _There's nobody there._ "

Gallant was the first to look at me and shout " _What?_ "

" _No stewardess?_ " His grandma asked in confusion, " _I guess i won't be ordering the fresh cut fruit._ "

Then the plane was rocked sideways by a huge shockwave. Screaming and holding onto the seat for dear life, the plane tilted sideways as if we were falling in midair. Just as quickly as it had started it ended. The plane was righted, turning to look in the cockpit I saw the controls steadying themselves. ' _That was odd_ ' I thought. I heard a gasp beside me, thinking Coco had seen what I saw I was just about to ask her what we should do when I saw the orange mushroom cloud. It looked frozen in the sky, no doubt this was the cause of our plane almost plummeting to earth. It was like a scene from a movie, to good to be real. But I knew, as did everyone else on that plane. This was the real god damn thing.


	2. Chapter 2- Hell on Earth

Chapter 2: Hell on Earth

I am sorry this chapter is boring, it really is just a filler chapter to explain the two weeks since the apocalypse to when Emily and Timothy show up or at least an idea of what could of taken place. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think (:

" _Come on Mal, you don't really believe that do you?" the boy asked leaning further around the tree to try and reach me. I knew better though which is why I shoved him and hid further on the other side, effectively getting myself out of his grip._

" _I believe in what I want to believe and that's that." the girl said adamantly._

 _I knew this was a dream yet I felt as though I was watching it from above, as if it was a memory I should of had. The only problem was I couldn't see anybody's faces, I could only see the things around them and hear their voices but no faces came into view. But for some reason I just knew. I knew it was myself on the other side of the tree and leaning into my dream self was a boy, rather I could only see the shape of his back side, not even the color of his hair was in focus. It was as if I was trying to solve a puzzle to my own dream._

" _Mal, you're being childish if you really believe then let me just see one more time." the boy asked leaning even further out of view around the tree. I must have shown him something because he jolted back and looked up. Above him were hundreds of blue butterflies flying through the air towards the top of the tree as if they had appeared out of nowhere._

" _Incredible" the boy breathed. But then suddenly he turned and in what should have been his face was a white corpse of a man, and rather quickly the dream turned from one of pure enjoyment to a nightmare. I stared at the man as if I had seen him before, his eyes black as coals, his skin taunt with scars running throughout. I should of been afraid but for some reason I felt as if I knew him and that brought a strange sense of comfort to me. I looked at him, staring into his pitch black eyes, and he stared back. Suddenly he lifted his arm and pointed at me. Then he uttered "Wake up Mallory. Wake Up." I shook my head in disbelief, unable to register if this is real or not but then my eyes shot open._

Standing above me was a hardened woman, leaning over my face with a wet rag, obviously the cause of my being awoken.

" _Oh good you're up_ " the lady said. She had quite a menacing face, it looked as though it hadn't cracked a smile in its entire lifetime. Her hair was piled neatly onto her head in what looked like two swiss rolls folded in on top of each other. It was definitely an odd look for starters. I lifted my head up to have a look around. I don't remember arriving anywhere on the plane, nor do I remember leaving it and being placed in this bed. But looking around it was clear I was not in a 5 star resort.

The first thing I noticed was how dark it was, unlike normal rooms where the light was muted, this one seemed to suck the light out completely. The only source of light was a mound of candles in the corner of the room. The next thing I noticed was the simplicity of everything within the room. Grey sheets laid under my fingers, a small desk sat in the corner and a big armoire in the other. Besides the bed, which I was currently on, nothing else marked the room giving it any significance at all. I looked up at the woman again a question etched onto my face.

" _I am_ _Wilhemina Venable, the leader of this sanctuary. You may call me Ms. Venable and will address me as such."_ The woman said a stern look crossing her face. Ms. Venable got up and crossed the room to the door placing her hand on the knob but not pulling it open yet.  
" _I expect you dressed and ready to work in no more than 15 mins. You are a worker Mallory, you will obey those in purple and not step out of line. Is that clear?_ " Ms. Venable asked with a look that dared me to question her.

I nodded my head yes slowly, still unsure of everything but not daring to cross this women.

" _cooperative took you in when Ms. Vanderbilt's family could not make it so if I were you I would give me eternal thanks to them._ " Ms. Venable said opening the door to leave. Taking one look back the woman stared directly into my eyes, peering what felt like into my soul.

" _Oh and one more thing Mallory,_ " she said sternly, " _No unauthorized copulation under any circumstances. Period._ " and with that she closed the door signaling her exit and the exhale of my breath.

I had no idea still where I was nor did I know who the cooperative was, but I knew to take her warning seriously. I got up out of bed and checked the armoire for my clothes. What I found was a uniform, slightly better than a maids outfit but completely gray and victorian looking. Shuffling through the racks I found that same outfit repeated 7 times. ' _Great_ ' I thought, ' _One for everyday of the week nothing more._ ' I changed as fast as I could not wanting to disobey that scary woman on my first day. I put my hair into a low bun and cleaned my glasses getting a good look at myself in the mirror. It wasn't my favorite outfit, it practically swallowed my figure whole and made me look old but it was better than nothing I supposed.

Turning to go I left my room and faced a hall of doors. Presumably this is where the other helped slept as well. It was a long corridor with one opening at the end. Walking to the faint light I came out right by the kitchens to a shock of grey everywhere. Though it was dim lighting I could make out the faces of the other grays I passed. One man was washing dishes in the sink, another was placing small cubes onto plates, and another was cleaning glasses no doubt for the purples to use. As I walked past the others one girl looked up and smiled at me, the one cleaning the glasses.

" _You must be new here._ " she said smiling.

" _How can you tell?_ " I laughed.

" _Your hair isn't up in the bun._ " she replied. Only then did I notice that all the other women had their hair stacked up into a bun, although the buns looked more like dicks on top of their heads than fashionable hairstyles.

" _You might want to fix your hair before Ms. Venable see's you._ " The girl said returning to her task in front of her. In all honesty I wasn't excited to have my hair up in that hairstyle, it looked rather unpleasant, but I put it up anyways just to avoid the wrath of Ms. Venable and not to stick out anymore than I already was. I walked out of the kitchen doors into a dining area. It was unspectacular in a sense with one big table taking up most of the space and, as with every room in the house so far, the only source of light coming from candles along the wall. Walking along I entered into a circular foyer and at the heart of it a fire pit. I looked up at the ceiling and saw two bridges running across the entire length of the foyer. I knew this place was huge but after marveling at the sheer scale of it all it made me wonder who, or what, had been here before. Suddenly I heard the distinct taping of a cane behind me. Turning to look up at the grand staircase I saw Ms. Venable descending them with who appeared to be a shorter woman beside her. Ms. Venable stopped at the bottom of the stairs and it was then that I noticed I wasn't the only one standing staring at her. Surrounding me where even more grey's than I had seen in the kitchen. 20 to be exact. She commanded the room like a war general, every eye was one her, the only thing heard was the sounds of everyone in the rooms breathing.

" _You will be assigned your posts today, unlike normal when we rotate these will be permanent. If you change your shift at all repercussions will be given. "_ Ms. Venable said with a snide appearing across her face.

" _First,_ " she said while pulling a list out of her pocket, " _Jessica M. you will be assigned to take care of Ms. Evie Gallant._ " I turned to see the girl from earlier in the kitchen curtsey and take off in the direction of what I presumed to be Evie's room.

" _Next. Daniel G. You will have the pleasure of assisting Mr. Gallant_." Ms. Venable said, then the boy standing next to me bowed and left the room the same way as the other girl had. This continued, everyone getting assigned to assist the other various rich people living in the sanctuary. It wasn't until my name was called that I got a sinking feeling in my stomach.

" _Mallory _. You have the great pleasure of assisting Ms. Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt. With whom I know you are very much familiar with_ " Ms. Venable said smirking just the tiniest bit.

' _Fuck._ ' I thought in my head, I had forgotten that Coco was here as well. Of course I would still be taking care of her, not much had change even after the apocalypse. I curtsied like the others had done and turned to take the same path they had. I walked through the kitchen again and back up the stairs. I walked down the hall again towards the bridge across the main opening. Looking around I had a sense that I had been to this place before, in the back of my head I knew it was true and I knew if I turned to the left I would find the room I was looking for. My feet were on autopilot, looking down below from the bridge I could see everyone else had been given their assignments and were gone. It was eerily silent now. I turned to the left and saw a door. In my mind I could hear someone behind the door, whispering. I leaned in close but it was still so faint. As I pressed my ear to the door I could just make out the first part of what was being said.  
" _Malloryyy._ " someone hissed. I jumped, as if shocked by an electric current.

' _That couldn't of been my name._ ' I thought. I leaned closer to the door again to prove myself wrong when suddenly...

" _There you are Mallory. I swear to God you would not believe the terrible service in this place. It's almost as bad as staying at the Hilton in downtown LA._ " a voice called.

I jumped up again and turned to the right seeing Coco walking towards me. I adjusted my skirt and faced her trying to show that nothing had happened.

" _Like you will not believe they don't even have wifi here. How the fuck am I supposed to keep with anything now, this whole apocalypse really sucks the fun out of life._ " Coco whined. Coco stopped in front of me her head tilted to the side as if she was studying me intently.

Her face puckered up as if she was sucking on something sour. Then she started laughing hysterically, as if I had just told the funniest joke she ever heard.  
" _Your hair looks like a giant dildo. Oh my god._ " she cried. Of course that would be what caught her attention.

" _Come on Coco. I have chores to do in your room._ " I remarked. Coco, still laughing like a hyena, lead me away from the creepy door down the bridge to her room.

A couple hours later and I was sitting on the floor of Coco's closet, naturally her room in this place was big, with a huge closet and separate bathroom. Not to mention her sitting room. Even in this hell hole she would be treated like royalty. I had spent two hours scrubbing her shoes and shining them because she couldn't bear for them to look dusty. I was holding one of her many Louis in my hand when the door opened revealing Gallant. He entered wearing purple dress clothes and an extra air of arrogance that had been missing before would've thought that being distinguished as a top dog for once in your life could change a man so much. He strode in to Coco's bathroom where she was sitting in front of the mirror getting ready for dinner.

" _Can you believe the help in this place._ " Gallant remarked staring in my direction while saying so.

" _I know. I mean I know the whole world ended but some decent help is not that hard to find._ " Coco replied.

They both sat there laughing at their own cleverness. I ignored them and continued working on the job at hand.

It wasn't long until dinner was about to be served so I left Coco's room and headed downstairs to help with the production. The weird thing about being a grey is that most of us don't talk to one another, of all the other grey's I have encountered so far only one has spoken to me. It's not bad really, it just makes this whole thing seem lonelier than it really should be if the only person I can have conversations with is… Coco.

I entered the kitchen to see the girl from earlier, Jessica I believe, cutting up cubes and placing them onto plates. A tall boy beside her, the one that was standing next to me in the foyer, was placing glasses on a tray and filling them with what looked like water. Jessica looked up as I entered and smiled.

" _Hello stranger._ " she said. " _You must already know your way around here. Believe me when I first arrived it took me a week to not get lost, even now I still do._ " she laughed. I walked over to stand next to her, eyeing the block of cubes she had.

" _What is that?_ " I asked

Jessica and the boy laughed, as if it was a private joke. " _Oh nothing,_ " she said, "J _ust our daily nutritional meal. I know they look gross but believe me they taste just as bad._ "

" _Everyone eats these?_ " I asked.

" _Duh, it's all we have._ " the boy answered.

Jessica turned to me and gave me a small smile. " _The purples eat these three times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Us grey's on the other hand get them only for lunch and dinner. It's not much, but each cube has all our daily vitamins and nutrition. Which if you think about it is cool, however they are sustaining._ "

I looked at the small cubes on the tray, they looked like nothing more than a sugar cube. The thought of only being able to eat those sat in…we really were fucked.

" _Do you need help with anything?_ " I asked.

" _Yeah, could you help serve these to the purples in the library. It's there cocktail hour. Not that they really need any more reason to feel rich._ " The boy said, making Jessica laugh quietly and, I thought, blushing a little.

" _Sure. I'll bring them out._ " I said.

There wasn't much going on in this prison. Every day we did the same thing. Serve the purples their breakfast, lunch and dinner. Feel hungry all the time, and clean Coco's closet. Every. Single. Day. There was no end in sight and frankly I could feel myself going mad. Not only was I having the same dream every night, the one with that demon face, but I kept hearing my name around every corner. I never had imaged hell before, but if I had, this would definitely be it.

*Two weeks later

It was simply another day, another same day that kept on repeating itself. Around dinner time I was bringing the cocktails out to the guests in the living room. Usually Jessica, Daniel; who was the boy always with Jessica, and I would prepare the cubes and drinks and serve them together, but I haven't seen either of them since lunch. That caused me to worry a tad but I but it at the back of my mind. Entering the den I could hear Gallant becoming moody again, an occurrence that happened nightly it seemed.

" _This song, the same one every night._ " Gallant complained, holding the bridge of his nose.

" _Where is it even coming from? And why do we have to listen to it? What are we missing here?_ " Gallant asked walking around the sofa.

" _About 99% of the world's population._ " Stu answered while grabbing a mineral water from the tray.

" _Would've been better off dying with them._ " Gallant sassed.

" _Speak for yourself darling._ " Evie chimed in.

" _Wouldn't have to drink this, whatever this is._ " Gallant said taking a glass from my tray.  
I knelt down next to Coco holding the other glass out to her while Andre explained to Gallant that it was mineral water in the glass.

" _Did you get a chance to talk to Venable?_ " I asked Coco. As it had been a topic of our conversations recently as to how I was stuck as a grey when Gallant was a purple. Even though we both used her family's ticket to get into the sanctuary.

" _No she creeps me out._ " Coco said while taking the last glass from my tray.

" _It's not fair that they get to be purples and not me._ " I told her for what felt like the millionth time.

" _Okay, he refused to touch my hair if he was a gray, and she's been to the Oscars, and was best friend with Natalie Wood, so fucking get some perspective._ " Coco said pointing towards Evie.  
I had heard this excuse as well for the millionth time, and yet I had hoped that Coco would be able to at least see that I deserved to be a purple too. Wishful thinking that was.

" _It just plays over and over, 24 hours a day._ " Gallant continued, even though no one was really listening to him.

" _It's like Satan's Spotify playlist._ " Stu said causing Andre to laugh.

Then suddenly the doors to the den opened, and everyone in the den gasped.


	3. Chapter 3- New arrivals

Chapter 3: New arrivals

This chapter will be shorter than the others because I wanted to end it right before Michael comes that way I could make his whole arrival just one chapter blah blah blah. If you like it/hate it let me know (:

The arrival of Timothy and Emily did little to shift the dynamic of the sanctuary, but I did gain a friend in Emily as she was the only other one close enough in age to me. Em liked Timothy, I could tell just by the way she looked at him when he entered a room or when they would play footsie under the dining table. In all honesty their romance kept me preoccupied since Jessica and Daniel were "dealt with", at least that is what Venable said when describing their disappearance. Em told me she saw them get killed on the way into the sanctuary for unauthorized copulation. It didn't surprise me that they would be one of the ones to break the rules, I was more shocked by the punishment they received. I knew Venable was a bitch but for her to murder two people for fucking… that was something more. Even though Emily and Timothy's lives gave me pleasure during the day it did little to hold over through the night. For two weeks before they showed up I had the same dream over and over again waking up each time covered in sweat and shaking. But after they showed up my dreams changed.

" _I am holding a flower in my hand, it's white. Pure. Someone is speaking to me, but it's muffled, my eyes are solely on the flower in my hand. I breathe out slowly, like a gentle breeze. My flower changes from white to a light blue and then darkens. I can tell the people around me are amazed though their faces I can't see. I hold the flower and the petals slowly fall off into my open hand. I close it and think real hard, then I open it and out comes a dozen light blue butterflies. I watch as they float up towards the ceiling and around the room. They are beautiful creatures, light and pure, a symbol of hope some say. I close my eyes again and they fall back down as petals returning to their original white color. I know I did something the others around me could not do but while I should be relishing in that praise I am faced with the same pair of blue eyes again, this time they look to be pained. My breath catches in my throat, I can't move, paralyzed by those eyes again."_

This is usually when I wake up, sweat once again covering my back. I hated these dreams, but there was nothing I could do to stop them from coming each night. For 18 months I had these dreams and each day it left me feeling a little more depleted than before. I knew there was no end in sight so I took drastic measures to make sure I slept through the night… well using what little sleep medicine we had at first and then resorting to staying up as late as possible to avoid these dreams. But to no avail did it work. Each night I was tormented and each morning I woke up feeling as though I should be somewhere else, or someone else.

To make it worse the days passed by slowly, dragging on with each passing hour. I was always helping Coco with one thing or another, usually we would paint her nails, redo her hair, clean her shoes, wash her clothes. It never ended. I would always ask Coco as well when she would talk to Venable for me but she dismissed me everytime. I knew not to get angry with her, she liked the comfort of having me wait on her hand and foot, it made her feel as if everything was still normal. I knew Coco kept me as a grey because she needed the stability of our places, and in a way I enjoyed waiting on her. Sure it was disgusting at times when she makes me re-clean the bathroom after her time of the month or when she asks me to clip her toenails but in a way Coco was a helpless child, one I couldn't abandon no matter how hard I tried. Yet I did grow increasingly frustrated with her. I hid it well, obviously, for fear of getting reprimanded or worse done to me, but it always bothered me how little she cared for my well being. The only time she ever showed she needed me was when the whole world was ending and she practically begged me to come with her. Not that I wouldn't of gone willing anyways it just bothered me how much she disregarded me or used me. However I wouldn't do anything about it. If I were lucky enough to escape the world ending then I would ride that train until the very end no matter how hellish it became.

After the death of Stu 18 months earlier the dynamic of the bunker changed… a lot. For one thing Andre would not stop moping over how everyone ate Stu and continued to give attitude to any gray he saw (he assumed we had cooked him willingly in the back). Dinah was still praising the gods for saving us all and kept reminiscing on her failed talk show. Evie was still lost in the delusional world of make believe where she thought she was 20 years younger and that we still had oscar categories to be nominated for. Gallant annoyed me the most. He whined every day about the same song playing; as if we all weren't tired of it, and continued to make my life even more hellish with his "suggestions" to Coco on my cleaning (or lack thereof as he called it). Emily and Timothy didn't really do much to be honest. We all knew they would sneak away to hook up or whatever but we kept it quiet, unable to bear with another one of us being killed and served as a meal. In all honesty the people in the bunker didn't bother me as much. Sure some of them were super annoying with their complaining and delusional ways of thinking but none ever bothered me to the point of anger. The only thing that made me hold on any hope was the idea that we would be rescued. Even after 18 months of no contact, not even a song change.

We were all sitting at breakfast one morning when change did come, not in the way we expected though.

" _I have an announcement._ " Venable said sitting at the head of the table. " _This will be our last breakfast. We are cutting back to one meal a day._ "  
' _Great'_ I thought, ' _Not as if us grey's hadn't been on one meal a day for a couple months now the purples will be too. That means an even moodier Coco._ '

" _You can't be serious._ " Coco cried.

" _An effective dieting technique._ " Evie chimed in.

" _Yeah so is starving to death!_ " Coco retaliated

" _How are we supposed to survive on half a cube?_ " Gallant asked Venable

" _It's not optimal, but also not way we have no choice. Not if we want to keep eating at all._ " Venable said, a serious look crossing her face.  
Everyone in the room looked at each other, a look of horror mirroring their faces. As if they knew what the end outcome would be from this cut back.

" _I fucking can't do this anymore._ " Gallant screamed.

" _We don't know how strong we are until we have to face adversity._ " Dinah said standing up. " _This could be an opportunity for all of us to grow._ " she continued calmly, looking at everyone directly.

" _You finish that bumper sticker shit you used to say on your show and I'm strong enough to shove this fork into your neck._ " Gallant yelled again, standing while holding a fork in Dinah's direction.

" _Oh calm down._ " Evie told Gallant.

" _What is the point of all of this? Starving, killing each other, getting shot? All we're doing is waiting around to find out how we die."_ Coco said. To which she did have a point.

' _What was the whole point of this place?_ ' I thought.  
" _I say we take our chances outside._ " I said, shockingly it was something Coco and I had talked about, but only in the most secret of times. I never thought we would actually be planning on leaving.

" _She's right. We have to get out of here._ " Gallant agreed.

" _Nobody's going anywhere."_ Mead said giving Gallant a stern look as well.

Gallant threw his plate across the room, smashing it into the wall behind him.

" _What are you gonna do? Shoot us all? Huh?! What are you gonna do?_ " Gallant said backing into the foyer with the fist following him.

Suddenly an alarm sounded from above.

And then the whole world turned red.


End file.
